Geelong

It was Tony's birthday on Sunday. He would have been 92. Lindsey, Ian and Stella went to the Boatshed to mark the occasion.

Not sure who took this - Lindsey or Ian

I went to Geelong. Sunday lunch at Irene's place, with Gillie, Chris and John. We started in the garden, where we intended to spend the afternoon. Alas, just as we finished our first course, it started to rain. We moved inside!

This time I managed to get photos of the humans who were there, but not of Flora the Dog who was mostly outside chasing, I mean guarding, the chickens.

Before the rain:

And after we had moved inside:

Irene had made a MASSIVE lasagne
I think she'll be eating the leftovers
for weeks!

It was a good afternoon, rain notwithstanding. And Flora did eventually give up on the chickens and come in to play.

Irene is not the only one who might be eating leftovers for days and days. On Thursday I bought a Mystery Box at Wilson's, of seconds and close to expiry vegetables and fruit. It cost me $7 and I think I more than got that back in the two pomegranates and half cauliflower that I found inside it. There was a lot of other stuff as well. So I deployed the slow cooker and put most of the vegetables in it, together with some chicken thighs that were also being sold cheaply because they were at their use by date. 

There was no way I was going to eat all of that while it was still edible, so several boxes of it have gone into the freezer. This required the skills of a Tetris Grand Slam Champion. I have closed down the freezer in the garage and didn't want to turn it back on just for some boxes of chicken and vegetable stew.

The rest of the stuff I used in a Magnificent Salad. Obviously that can't go in the freezer. I'm just going to have to eat salad at great speed. Salad with everything. Apart from last night when I ate the chicken stew that wouldn't fit in the freezer, with a Yorkshire Pudding that I made because I felt like it. I did have salad for lunch, though.

Today, if all goes according to plan, marks settlement on Stella's villa in Mount Martha. I think she is in two minds about this. It marks the end of that chapter in her life and, while the next chapter started last June, it does mean that there is now no going back. 

Not that she was going back. The house has been empty of furniture since October so wouldn't be particularly cosy. And where she is now they bring her regular cups of tea and pieces of cake; her clothes are washed and ironed; her meals are cooked for her and the dishes done; her bed is made and the room cleaned and tidied; people come and go throughout the day. None of that would be happening in her villa in Mount Martha.

Edible flowers from my mystery box.
Not being eaten.
Being decorative on my dining table